


mutiny below

by pymtron



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Basically everything is the same except Stan and Ford stayed in Gravity Falls, Blood Drinking, College, Demonic Possession, Dubious Consent, General Trigger Warning, Mental Health Issues, Original Character(s), Other, Psychological Torture, Self-Harm, Sleep Deprivation, Trans Character, Trans Dipper Pines, Triangle Bill Cipher, just some tags to start with so you know what you're walking into
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-06
Updated: 2018-01-12
Packaged: 2019-03-01 02:42:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13285248
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pymtron/pseuds/pymtron
Summary: (discontinued) dipper pines is 18 years old and starting his first semester of college. he hopes to move on to bigger and better things, but deals with demons don't just end because you want them to.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> so this little fic right here is my new baby, and i'm really excited for all the things it has in store. this story is not a happy or a healthy one and i'm not going to guarantee you a happy ending. if you do decide to stick it out to the end, i hope you enjoy it!

All Dipper ever wanted was to feel normal for more than a day.

 

There wasn’t anything wrong with being abnormal, in fact Dipper did enjoy the life he had that was full of adventure and mystery. However, at the start of his first semester of college, Dipper really liked the idea of at least  _ trying _ to be normal for a while. He loved the idea of college life, having a roommate, going to classes, and learning about the things he loved. Dipper had decided early on into high school that he wanted to major in forensic science. He loved helping people, solving mysteries, and all the analysis that went into the field. He had taken some college courses for it his junior and senior years of high school, so he already had a head start.

 

Dipper had picked a larger university in Portland, one with a forensics program he liked, and not to mention it was a school that was a short drive west to Gravity Falls. Sure, Dipper wanted to be normal as possible, but all of his friends lived in Gravity Falls and he didn’t want to lose the ties he had to them. Mabel was also living in the town as of this summer, helping their Great Uncles out with the Mystery Shack and taking online classes in criminal justice. Mabel often spoke about starting a private detective business with Dipper when they were both done with school. Dipper wasn’t opposed to the idea.

 

Dipper had driven up from Piedmont to Portland in what became over a 12 hour drive thanks to traffic and the many times Dipper would stop at various roadside attractions. He just couldn’t help himself. By the time he arrived at his school, he was a little more than late and called Mabel to make sure she was still there. He had told her to meet him in the parking lot at 9 in the morning, and it was noon now.

 

“Dipper! I’m glad you’re alive. Waddles and I stopped at one of your fancy college cafes to get something to eat. Then I met a cute guy and we talked about animals for like, an hour. I think he was an animal behavior major.”

 

Dipper laughed, relieved his sister wasn’t mad he was so late. Not that she ever got mad at him. He told his sister to meet back up with him in the parking lot like they had originally planned, and in about ten minutes there she was with Waddles, her now officially registered emotional support animal. Thankfully the halls weren’t very crowded now that most students had moved in, so Waddles would have all kinds of room to run around.

 

Mabel helped Dipper get his things from his car, and on the first trip up Dipper found his dorm room, 326, unlocked with the door cracked open. He found it polite to knock anyway, and pushed the door open to see a tall young man arranging some of his things on his desk. He turned around and Dipper was relieved that he had a kind face, with angular features, dark hair and blue eyes. “Oh, hey man! It’s Mason right?” His roommate—Adam—greeted him with a smile.

 

“Actually, uh, you can call me Dipper if you want. My friends call me Dipper. Nice to meet you, Adam.” Dipper told him, and Adam came over to give him a little bro-hug. It made Dipper feel pretty cool, and he was more than overjoyed that he passed right away to his roommate.

 

“This is my twin sister, Mabel, and Waddles.” Dipper gestured to his sister grinning by the door holding her pig. Waddles squealed happily, and Dipper felt himself blush a little. He hoped Adam wasn’t the judgemental type, because as normal as he wanted to be, he was still pretty eccentric and his family even more so.

 

“Dude, what! You have a pig? That’s so badass!” Adam laughed and walked over to greet Mabel and Waddles. He seemed so excited and sweet, and Dipper already liked him a lot. The only things Dipper knew about him were that he was a forensic science major and a freshman as well, but he hoped they had other things in common too.

 

After a little bit of talking, all three of them (plus Waddles) went back downstairs to help Dipper unload his car. He’d unpack everything later, but he at least got his bed set up and his desk with his laptop. They all ended up going out to lunch and Dipper learned that Adam was very booksmart, watched Criminal Minds on a daily basis, and had a long-distance boyfriend who lived on the east coast. He just seemed so cool, which was great since Dipper had so much anxiety over whether his roommate would like him or not.

 

Mabel left later into the evening, giving Dipper the biggest hug and telling him she was only an hour drive away if he ever needed anything. He smiled and hugged his twin back, making sure to give Waddles a little pat on the head before they left. And with that, Dipper and Adam were left in their room, Dipper feeling confident about the days and weeks ahead.

 

He did have a hard time sleeping, but he attributed it to the new bed which was far less comfortable and smaller than his bed at his parents’ house. 

 

The next morning they had to wake up at 7 am, to be ready for orientation that started at 7:45. Dipper hated getting up early, which is why most of his classes started after 9. They ended up meeting with some of Adam’s friends outside, which Dipper was intensely nervous about, especially since he assumed all of his friends would be guys. It was the exact opposite, in fact, and they came outside to meet three stunning girls. Their names were Mandy, Allie, and Sarah. Dipper was still so nervous around girls, especially seriously gorgeous girls with red hair. And that was Allie.

 

Dipper had made it a habit of getting crushes on girls easily, and he knew he was so obvious about it, but he just couldn't control it. He was an awkward guy and that always showed. Especially when he introduced himself with a stutter, a  _ stutter _ , and Allie giggled as she greeted him back.  _ Awesome,  _ Dipper thought to himself,  _ You’ve known this girl for ten seconds and she already thinks you’re a dork. _

 

Orientation went smoothly for the most part, aside from the fact that Dipper was anxious and nervous about it the entire time. He attributed it to his paranoia, but he had such a bad feeling that college was going to suck and he was going to be terrible at it. He didn’t have any reason to think that way; he always did great in school and excelled in most subjects, but he was still paranoid no matter how hard he tried not to be.

 

Eventually Dipper and Adam split up from the girls, who had different meetings for their own majors, to go have lunch in the student union. There were tons of tables set up in and outside with clubs and fraternities and sororities handing out pamphlets. After a quick bite the two boys walked through the union looking at all the tables that were set up, Dipper’s attention quickly settling on the paranormal research club. He had no idea a club like that existed, but he quickly took all the information they were willing to give him.

 

“You like ghosts and stuff?” Adam asked, eyeing the pamphlet in Dipper’s hand.

 

“Yeah, I mean—not just ghosts. I’ve been into paranormal stuff since I was a kid. All kinds of spirits and demons and. All that.” Dipper just let the words spill out of his mouth, and his face reddened slightly when he remembered not everyone believed in the paranormal.

 

Adam just nodded with a little shrug. “That’s cool, man! I don’t really believe in that stuff, but it’s pretty cool. The whole mystery aspect is really interesting.”

 

“For sure.” Dipper laughed, trying to laugh off how awkward he felt, especially knowing for a fact that ghosts and monsters and demons really were real and were the source of all his anxiety and paranoia.

 

All of the events for orientation ended around five, and Dipper was exhausted from all of the walking around. He was so excited when they got back to the dorm, flopping onto his bed with a sigh. He pulled his phone out of his pocket to see a couple texts from Mabel, and even Wendy who wanted to check up on him. 

 

He and Wendy had remained close for a while, but once she went to college she was so busy that she didn’t have much time to talk to Dipper. Dipper understood, and in fact the distance really helped him get over her. It might have taken until he was 16, but he still did it eventually. It was okay now, because Wendy had a really sweet girlfriend that she had an apartment (and a dog) with. Dipper was nothing but happy for her.

 

After taking his medication and saying good night to Adam, it only took a few hours of laying down for Dipper to fall asleep, which was better than usual. He had had insomnia since he was young, and it only got worse after his first summer in Gravity Falls. Seeing all of those monsters and being possessed by a literal demon when you’re twelve years old will do that to you. Dipper didn’t mind it much anymore, since it was just a part of his life. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this probably wasn't obvious but dipper is on hormones and had top surgery recently. enjoy !

Classes started the next day, but Dipper didn’t have his first one until noon. He woke with a start at around nine in the morning, groaning when he grabbed his phone and saw the time. He could have slept more, but once he woke up there was no chance of falling back asleep. He sat up and noticed Adam was gone, probably already in class. He sighed and set his phone down, and winced slightly when a sudden white and hot pain flew up his arm. He looked down at the fork prong scars set deep in his skin with a grimace. 

 

_ That was weird. _

 

Dipper did his best to shake it off throughout the day, but his anxiety clung to him like ivy to a tree. He couldn’t stop rubbing his arm and thinking about how those scars got there. He tried not to let it ruin his first day of classes, but he had such a hard time focusing. Luckily, his two classes weren’t very involved since they just went over the syllabi in both of them.

 

Dipper stayed in bed for the rest of the day, telling Adam he had a stomach ache and hadn’t gotten enough sleep. That was a lie, of course, but it wasn’t exactly easy to tell someone you’d only just met that you were on the brink of an anxiety attack all day because you were remembering the time you got possessed by a demon. 

 

Dipper debated on calling Ford, debated on asking about how he dealt with all those terrible memories, but he didn’t want his family to worry about him. He tried his best to push it from his mind, to try and act  _ normal. You’re normal, Dipper.  _ He told himself.  _ Bill’s gone. He can’t get to you anymore. _

 

But sure enough, that night, Bill Cipher was in Dipper’s nightmares.

 

He woke up and almost screamed, but quickly realized where he was and exhaled a shaky breath instead. He got up and ran to the bathroom, locking the door and slid down against it to the floor. He drew his knees up and wrapped his arms around them, trying to calm his breathing. Even being on medication didn’t stop panic and anxiety attacks, so Dipper knew by now how to handle them. He just had to wait it out, to try to stop his mind from moving so fast.

 

“Gee, Pinetree, you’re a lot more of a mess than the last time I saw you!” 

 

Suddenly the room around Dipper melted away as he heard Bill’s voice, so loud and clear like he was right in front of him. He nearly choked on his breath as he stood and looked around, now in an unfamiliar and dark place. He didn’t know if he was still asleep, if this was a dream, or if this was incredibly real and he was in the dreamscape with none other than Bill Cipher. 

 

“Leave me alone!” Dipper cried out, squeezing his eyes shut and holding his hands against his ears.

 

“Hey, we made a deal, remember?” A sudden tap against Dipper’s forehead made his eyes fly open, and he took a step back when he saw the triangular demon’s glowing form. 

 

“The deal was off a long time ago.” Dipper argued, shaking his head. 

 

“Ooh Pinetree, your voice is so deep now. No more squeaking?” Bill laughed, and Dipper felt a shiver run through his whole body. 

 

“You’re not real. You’re not real.” Dipper avoided eye contact with the demon and grabbed at his hair. “We destroyed you, back then—”

 

**“Did you really think you’d get rid of me that easily?”** Bill’s voice darkened, booming in Dipper’s ears as he looked up once more to stare into a now blood red eye. 

 

The demon grabbed both of Dipper’s wrists, and he felt a sudden and excruciating pain like the bones of his wrists were being sawed into with a dull blade. 

 

And then there was nothing. 

 

Darkness. Void. 

 

Dipper woke with a jolt and to his surprise, he was under the covers in his bed. It was dark out, and the lights were off, Adam asleep on the other side of the room. Dipper shook his head, blinking back tears, telling himself over and over that everything was okay and that it was just a dream. 

 

The sinking feeling in his stomach told him that wasn’t true. 

 

When Dipper checked the clock, it was 3:05 am, and he had around seven hours until class. He knew sleep just wasn’t an option for him, so he played games on his phone to pass the time. Every once in a while he had to sit up and look around to ground himself and make sure he was still in his dorm. 

 

Sunrise seemed to take a lifetime, and Dipper felt a little safer when the room was better lit. Adam’s alarm rang at eight, and Dipper did his best to look like he hadn’t been awake for the last five hours. 

 

“Hey, man. You sleep okay?” Adam asked as he stretched, grabbing his phone to shut the alarm off. 

 

“Yeah.” Dipper’s voice was a little hoarse. “Just not used to the new bed yet I guess.”

 

“I’m sure we’ll get used to it eventually, yeah?” Adam reassured him, getting up to get dressed. 

 

Dipper waited for him to shut the bathroom door before he pushed his blankets off and looked at his wrists. His breath caught in his throat when he saw how raw the skin was, red and purple with bruising. There was blood all over his arms, some of it still wet like he had been bleeding all night. 

 

He wrapped his blanket around himself as he waited for Adam to come out of the bathroom, nearly running past him when he finally did. Dipper locked the door behind him and pulled his shirt off, standing in front of the sink and splashing cold water on his face. He carefully washed the blood off his wrists and grabbed a tube of neosporin out of the bathroom bag he had yet to unpack. 

 

He slipped out of his boxers and got in the shower, hoping it might calm him down. It helped to an extent, but every time the water hit the wounds on his wrists he cringed and it made him think about his nightmare. 

 

It had to have been a nightmare, and yet Dipper couldn’t imagine hurting himself like that in his sleep. He had never done anything like that before.

 

He considered it again, but he still decided against contacting either of his great uncles about it. He tried to convince himself it was just his anxiety, paranoia, and the change in environment getting to him. And it worked—at least for a while. He got through his first week of classes fine for the most part, with only a few hiccups. He and Adam got along great, and he even walked Allie to her class later in the week. She gave Dipper her number, and he couldn’t remember ever being so excited.

 

As it turned out, Allie was into paranormal research almost as much as Dipper was. She was a journalism major, which made sense once Dipper found out. She was charismatic and personable, and seemed pretty well-educated on all kinds of different subjects. She was always typing down notes and reminders for herself on her phone, a little mannerism Dipper thought was so cute.

 

She was a few inches taller than him, with hazel eyes and either purple or blue-rimmed glasses depending on the day. Her red hair, a little longer than shoulder length, was usually drawn into a low ponytail. She laughed a lot, and more importantly she laughed at Dipper’s dumb jokes.

 

“So, you and Allie, huh?” Adam said one night when he and Dipper were in their dorm doing homework.

 

Dipper’s face immediately flushed and he almost hid his face in his book out of embarrassment. “She’s a really good person. And we have a lot of stuff in common.”

 

“Dude, I’m not making fun of you, it’s great! You should ask her out.”

 

“What?! I can’t do that!” Dipper protested.

 

“Why not?”

 

“I’ve never asked a girl out before.” 

 

Adam nodded in understanding. “...Yeah...me neither. I guess asking anyone out for the first time can be kind of scary. But I really think she likes you! The worst she can do is say no.” He told him, trying to be reassuring.

 

“I’ll think about it.” Dipper said, trying to refocus on his homework and get rid of the blush across his cheeks.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> general violence tw for this chapter. enjoy!

Two weeks in and Dipper was already ready for a break. He decided to head over to Gravity Falls for the weekend. Spending time with Mabel always helped keep him level-headed, and he definitely needed that. School was a lot harder than he expected, and he wasn’t sleeping more than a few hours a night for fear of having another nightmare about Bill.

 

On Friday, he got out of class at three, so he packed a bag and sent Adam a text to let him know he was heading out and would be gone until Sunday night. He got on the road right away, and he was in Gravity Falls by 4:30.

 

Dipper had the option to either stay at the Mystery Shack or with Ford in the little apartment he had gotten a few years ago, and even though he would have preferred the quiet of Ford’s apartment, he wasn’t about to risk being questioned in case he let something slip about his nightmares. 

 

It wasn’t that Dipper didn’t want help with everything that was going on, but he didn’t want to become a burden on his family. He had already shaken Mabel enough when Bill possessed him their first summer in Gravity Falls...the mere mention of the demon always made his sister uneasy.

 

He pulled his car up to the Shack and was almost immediately greeted with hugs from Mabel and Stan, who he hadn’t seen in almost a year. 

 

“Jeez kid, you been sleeping at all?” Stan asked, and Dipper laughed nervously.

 

“Yeah, school is just stressful and my bed sucks.” 

 

“Well we got an even less comfy bed for you upstairs, come on in. And why are you wearing long sleeves? It’s a hundred degrees out.” Stan ushered both of the twins inside.

 

Dipper pulled at the sleeves of his shirt, extra paranoid that the fabric wasn’t covering his wrists. It was so hot outside but the last thing he wanted was for his family to ask about his wounds. He just wanted to have a normal weekend to hang out and de-stress. 

 

That night Ford (and Soos, too!) came over and they all hung out as a family, playing corny games and sharing old stories. Dipper was probably too quiet, the lack of sleep finally starting to get to him. He ended up passing out against the arm of the couch for a while, everyone opting to let him sleep.

 

It was later into the night that Dipper was shaken awake, and he opened his eyes slowly to see Ford. He seemed concerned, his brow furrowed as he looked at Dipper. “Hey, Dipper. I figured you’d want to go upstairs to sleep for the night.”

 

“Oh. Yeah, thanks, Grunkle Ford. Are you uh, heading home?” Dipper panicked when he realized one of his sleeves had ridden up, and he quickly pulled it back down with the hopes that Ford hadn’t seen.

 

“Yeah. Dipper—”

 

“Y-Yeah?”

 

“Are you sure you’re doing alright? You seem a little off.”

 

Almost immediately, Dipper felt his stomach turn and he felt like he was about to throw up. “I’m fine.”

 

“Are you sure? You know you can always talk to Stan and I if—”

 

“I said I’m fine.” Dipper insisted, nearly snapping at his uncle, and Ford finally seemed to understand that he wasn’t getting anything out of him.

 

“Okay. Stay safe, huh kid?” Ford gave him a hug and left, leaving Dipper alone in the living room.

 

Dipper didn’t go upstairs after Ford left, but sat against the arm of the couch falling in and out of consciousness. He hadn’t slept the last two days and he knew he needed it more than anything, but he was  _ so  _ terrified to sleep that he just couldn’t bring himself to.

 

Against any better judgement whatsoever, he ended up grabbing his keys and getting in the car, changing the radio to a classic hits station and keeping the volume down low. Night driving always calmed him down, not that there were many places to drive in Gravity Falls. He was exhausted but the music kept him awake long enough, at least until he blacked out and woke up with his car on the side of the road, the front end smashed into a tree.

 

He awoke to the sound of creaking metal and radio static.

 

He tried to focus through his spotty vision, but his face and head were on fire and his arm felt like it was going numb. It was dark and the little he could see was thanks to the moonlight. He knew without looking at it (he couldn’t look at it without freaking out, he was already freaking out enough) that his arm was broken, and he could taste blood in his mouth. He shook violently, tears pouring down his face as he tried to find his phone in the dark.

 

His phone was on the floor of the passenger seat, albeit with the screen cracked. After unhooking his seatbelt and leaning over to grab it, he accidentally bumped his arm against the steering wheel and cried out in pain, further confirming his suspicions that it was broken.

 

He managed to dial 911 and give a slipshod description of where he thought he was and what happened, but he didn’t finish before he passed out again.

 

“You really put up a fight, don’t you?”

 

Dipper’s eyes flew open, and he knew he wasn’t conscious because he didn’t feel any pain. In fact, he didn’t feel anything. He didn’t have a broken arm and the taste of blood was gone from his mouth. He balled his hands up into tight fists as he looked out into the void in front of him, and in his frustration, he called out to Bill.

 

“If you’re going to do this again at least show yourself.” He demanded, and the demon immediately appeared in front of him, startling him enough to send him a few steps back.

 

“I have to hand it to you, Pinetree, trying to possess you has been a lot harder than the first time I did it! I didn’t mean to make you crash your car. But you were just so weak...perfect time to try.” Bill didn’t have a mouth at the moment, but being as ever expressive with that single eye as he was, Dipper knew he was smiling.

 

The demon’s words sunk in slowly, deep into Dipper’s bones. “You...possessing…”

 

“Let’s give him a hand, he finally figured it out!” Bill laughed and gave Dipper a full round of applause. Dipper wanted to punch him right in his disgusting little eyeball.

 

Dipper shook his head. “What do you want from me?”

 

“I just want a body, Pinetree! I just wanna walk around and be a part of the Earth, like you, y’know? No tricks. Just wanna possess you sometimes when you’re sleeping. I won’t hurt a soul!” Bill floated around as he spoke, eventually spinning upside down to look at Dipper. “Besides, it’s not like that portal’s around anymore! I have no way of getting to your dimension and taking over the earth again!”

 

Dipper winced when Bill grabbed his face with both hands, squeezing his cheeks almost like he was trying to be cute. He found it anything but. “I guess I could always find someone else to possess...maybe that dashing roommate of yours. What was his name? Adam?” Dipper tensed, and Bill knew he had struck a nerve in the human.

 

“Or maybe I’ll go after your sister this time! I’m sure she’d love to see me again.” Bill twirled his hand now as he spoke. 

 

“No!” Dipper nearly cut him off, the anger and frustration with the demon overtaking him. “I’ll do anything you want! Just please don’t hurt Mabel!” He was terrified and he knew Bill could see that. He knew there wasn’t any easy way out of this, especially if he was on his own.

 

**“Now that’s what I like to hear.”** Bill bellowed, and Dipper could feel the vibrations of his voice in every part of his soul.

 

“You swear you won’t hurt anyone?” Dipper asked quietly. 

 

“Cipher’s honor! Your friends, family, everyone will be fine. Is that a deal, kid?”

 

Dipper bit his lip and after a few moments he stuck out his hand to shake Bill’s. As soon as he saw that familiar blue flame appear to seal their deal, Dipper woke up screaming in a hospital bed.


End file.
